We had such a nice time in the Cinque Terre, no wonder Rick Steves (travel guru) sings its praises!

After leaving the wonderful hospitality of our friends Andrea and Dean in Milan, we took a short train out to the Cinque Terre.

The Cinque Terre is a series of five, thus the cinque part, small towns along the Ligurian Sea. The area is simply beautiful. We stayed in Vernazza, the small town recommended by Rick Steves. (Can you tell that we switched guidebooks? and just in time too, but that is another story).

The towns are connected by walking trails. Some of the trails were well paved paths along the coastline, others, were just inland and winded their way through olive and lemon trees. The area is small, and the entire length can easily be walked in about a day--about a six hour walk. We took our time and stopped for photos and snacks in each town. There are many tourists and the area could easily get overrun, especially in the high season. The Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its beauty and for the preservation of the buildings, landscape and animal life. Cars are not allowed in the main part of most of the towns, making it pedestrian friendly and very fun to just stroll along.

Aside from some day hikes, we ate great seafood in cafes along the main street, swam in the very cold water of the Ligurian Sea and sat on the rocky beach.

The local people were very friendly even though there were tons of tourists--we have been hearing more and more of those great American accents!

We are now in Florence and are trying to do some sightseeing, get some Servas hosts together for the next several nights and just keep things together. We are heading to central Italy next, near Siena and Perugia--Tuscany and Umbria countryside.